COVER STORY


DIGITAL SAFETY IS CARE SAFETY


Michelle Corrigan, Chief Executive of Digital Care Hub, explains why cyber security is now a safeguarding issue for care providers, and what practical steps managers and owners can take.


A care provider receives what looks like an official Home Office email. It says there is a problem with their visa sponsor account and urges them to click a link or open an attachment. The message feels credible and time-critical. Someone enters their login details. Suddenly, the organisation’s Sponsor Management System account is at risk, with possible disruption, fraud and consequences for staff whose right to work depends on that system.


That is not hypothetical. Digital Care Hub recently shared a scam alert about emails targeting care providers using the UK Visas and Immigration Sponsor Management System. Some accounts were taken over. For services already under pressure, an incident like this is not just an IT problem. It can affect staffing, compliance, confidence and the safe running of care.


That is why digital safety needs to sit alongside the other safety issues care leaders manage every day: medication, manual handling, infection control, fire safety, safeguarding and staffing.


This is not something for the IT company to sort out in the background. If staff cannot open care records, check medicines information, see the rota or contact families, the impact is immediate. If personal information is stolen, changed or shared with the wrong person, people can be harmed.


TECHNOLOGY CAN MAKE CARE SAFER


Technology can do a huge amount of good. Digital care records give staff quick access to accurate information. Role-based access means people only see what they need. Audit trails show who has opened or changed a record. Sensors and dashboards can help managers spot patterns, such as increased falls risk or repeated incidents.


There is evidence behind this. CQC says good records underpin safe, effective, compassionate care, and that digital records can help staff respond more quickly, share information safely and reduce risks. The Digitising Social Care Programme has also highlighted that acoustic monitoring can reduce falls in care homes by 20% or more – and we have seen examples where it reduced falls by over 50%, and reduced hospital admissions by almost 80%.


THE RISK IS REAL AND GROWING


Care services hold some of the most sensitive information about people’s lives: health conditions, medicines, care needs, family circumstances, finances, capacity and safeguarding concerns. This makes social care data valuable to criminals, who can use it for fraud, identity theſt, scams, extortion or targeted pressure.


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Research on cyber security in adult social care found that 90% of providers say they know a great deal or fair amount about good cyber security practice. But awareness is not the same as resilience. Seventeen per cent do not use any measures to identify cyber threats.


There is progress too. More than three-quarters (76%) of care providers now have the Data Security and Protection Toolkit in place. The next step is making sure annual self-assessments reflect what actually happens on the floor, in the office and across every system.


The wider UK picture remains stark. The government’s Cyber Security Breaches Survey 2025/2026 found that 43% of UK businesses had identified a breach or attack in the previous 12 months, around 612,000 businesses. For charities, the figure was 30%, or around 57,000. Among organisations affected, phishing remained the most common and disruptive type.


Cyber risk is not limited to deliberate attacks. Many breaches are caused by preventable mistakes: an email sent to the wrong person, a lost device, a weak password or information shared in the wrong way. Whether the cause is criminal or accidental, providers need to prevent, spot and respond quickly.


CYBER SECURITY IS SAFEGUARDING


Care providers already understand safeguarding as protecting people from abuse, neglect and exploitation. Data protection and cyber security belong in that same conversation.


Think about the information in your service: care records, financial details, staff files, family contacts, medication information and


www.tomorrowscare.co.uk


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